A while ago, Hooverphonic were deemed as the best kept secret in Belgium. Since then, they've extensively toured Europe and the U.S., with such acts as Massive Attack, Apollo 440 or Fiona Apple, to name but a few. A few line-up changes down the line, they're back with The Magnificent Tree, their third album.
The guitar-lead, string-drenched drama pop dispensed by Hooverphonic would most definitely have been tagged trip-hop a few years ago. Luckily, they came just a bit too late for that. Their unconventional, enlightened pop, like a cross between indie, ambient and electronica, close to Portishead's dark alleys, brought the band critical acclaims for both their studio and live performances from a very early stage, when 2wicky, featured on their first album, was snapped by Bernardo Bertolucci for the soundtrack of Stealing Beauty. The Magnificent Tree displays all the characteristics of music for films: sheer drama (Vinegar & Salt, Frosted Flake Wood), emotion (Waves, The Magnificent Tree), tension (Mad About You, Every Time We Live Together We Die A Bit More), attitude (Autoharp, Jackie Cane)… The production is faultless, ensuring consistency of sound all the way through, the songs are brilliantly orchestrated, performed with class and denote certain maturity, tainted of innocence (Pink Fluffy Dinosaurs). Geike Arnaert's lyrics are at once naïve and paranoid, her voice adding extra pressure to Callier & Geerts' already somewhat menacing atmospheres.
Hooverphonic have produced, with The Magnificent Tree, an impudent, chilling record, although not to the extent of Portishead. There is light at the end of the tunnel, only you'll have to walk a while before you get there.